PSALM 24
A psalm of David.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
A psalm of David.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.
Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
who do not worship idols and never tell lies.
They will receive the Lord’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
Interlude
Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, invincible in battle.
Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors,
and let the King of glory enter.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies— he is the King of glory.
Interlude
The King of GloryIn OT times the King was top-dog. Our democratic fancies make us averse to kings in America but not entirely. We still crown a high-school senior the Prom King, Elvis was the King of Rock and Roll and Labron James has been nicknamed King James for his prowess on the basketball court. Our culture is full of people we elevate to the status of king in their perspective areas.
Kings are people who command our respect, our attention, and even our allegiance. Their triumphs quell our doubts about who is best and who are the rest. Kings rule. When a King walks into the room you stand, when they ask for something you hurry to get it. Kings have people to take care of their light work.
A king rides in a limo, has cops all around them to keep the paparazzi off them and has crowds of people screaming to get close to them. Every girl wants to marry the king. Kings have money and power and fame and glory and everything you could ever want. Every boy wants to be the king; only one gets to.
The image of Psalm 24 is of an invincible King, strong in battle. Matthew 21:5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, See your king comes riding to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Matthew 27:37 “Above his head they placed the written charge against him: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
An odd place to find a king, but this is how Christ demonstrated true Kingship.
My Lord and my King, you reign over all the earth and over all my life as well. I give you thanks for abandoning the trappings of your throne to walk this earth in humility so we could become heirs of your kingdom of power. - Dan Jones
No chaos here!Maxwell Smart bumbles his way through his mission to keep Kaos from wrecking havoc on the world in the spy spoof, Get Smart. This old TV show, now movie, basis itself on the yin yang philosophy of balancing chaos and control in the world.
David reminds me that the real world doesn’t need balance between these two things. There is no chaos, only God in control. I need this reminder because life often seems rather chaotic. My mind perceives chaos all around me and I wonder what in the world is going to happen in the world during the second half of my life. Philosophical Naturalism wants me to believe my perceptions, insisting that all of life happens randomly and without ultimate purpose. It’s only a chaotic survival of the fittest.
David’s generation perceived chaos. The ancient world perceived the gods in constant battle. In fact, that’s how creation came about. Younger gods of land defeated the gods of water, banishing them to places under and over the earth. David addresses perceptions of chaos in his generation and mine in the opening lines of his poem.
Using the images of his own era, David insists that God is in control of it all! If we could somehow come into the King of glory’s presence we would begin to see life from his vantage point. We could begin to relax and live at peace when life seems so out of control.
My goose is cooked! I cannot come into his presence. My hands and heart are not always pure. I am committed to worshiping only God, but I also confess that I suspect I come painfully close to worshiping other things like my country, my financial security, my body. I struggle to live honestly, letting who I really am and what I’m truly thinking and feeling reflect themselves in my words.
Thank God for Jesus who make a way for me to enter the presence of the King of glory so his perception of all creation can increasingly become mine!
Lord, strong and mighty, I worship you as both the Creator and Sustainer of all this exists. You didn’t conquer it. You made it, both the waters and the land. There are no other gods to compete against you. Grant me growing confidence in your ability to control the forces of your creation while never withdrawing or trampling over your wonderful gift of freedom. – Mike Leamon
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